Felicity
by weeooweeoo
Summary: Do transfer students happen very often in magical schooling systems? OC. Set in the early 1900's.
1. Chapter 1- First Taste of London

The first thing Felicity noticed about London is that the air tastes different. She couldn't describe it of course, but unbeknownst to her, anyone who had traveled away after spending a long time at home could verify that it was the truth. Felicity didn't have long to think on it though as passengers pushed past her with their luggage, anxious to step aboard land again after the long journey. She decided it would be prudent for her to hurry down after them to find Mr. Alcott. She'd overheard some of the crew talking about how their ship had arrived slightly later than expected and didn't want to inconvenience Mr. Alcott any further after he had shown her family such generosity in accepting her arrival.

She put a hand up to shade her eyes and squinted, scanning every face in the crowd in front of her. She became discouraged after 10 minutes of her ardent searching produced nothing. She pulled the small photograph from her coat pocket and glanced at it again, trying to memorize the features: the dark, slightly receding hairline, the wrinkled eyes and kind grin. She'd spent at least an hour studying it aboard the boat in hopes of preventing this very happenstance. She spun desperately, studying every face. She began to draw some strange looks from the crowd. Even more so when she hurried over to a half-occupied sitting bench and stood on it to gain a better vantage point.

She was about to give up and sit down, feeling quite frustrated in her fruitless attempts and starting to worry now that Mr. Alcott had changed his mind or perhaps drawn ill and was unable to pick her up, leaving her very lost and alone. But suddenly she heard:

"Miss Franklin!"

She twisted sharply and in her haste, fell from her perch on the bench. A short, stout man with black, receding hair sprinted to her aide.

"Oh my Lord! Are you quite alright Miss Franklin?" His soft accent combined with a compassionate concerned face made her laugh. He gripped her elbow delicately and with his help, she stood, attempting to brush at least some of the mud off of her bottom and hands.

"Oh yes, I'm fine thank you Mr. Alcott." She grinned at him.

"Oh but you've stained your dress. It's my fault, I truly am sorry for startling you" He managed to look just as concerned for her dress as he was for her safety just moments before.

"A stained dress is well worth a sound body, wouldn't you agree?" Felicity merely smiled at him and he sighed, smiling back and reaching his hand out to her.

"Well, as eventful as it was, I am glad to make your acquaintance at last Miss Franklin." He said kindly, and she took his hand to shake it.

"Yours as well, Mr. Alcott. And please certainly call me Felicity." His hand was warm and firm in her small, cold palm.

"In that case, you can call me Herb then." He smiled, kindly. "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, are you hungry Felicity? I know of the quaintest little cafe just a block or so from here." He added "Oh, but I suppose you'll be wanting to get out of those clothes first."

Felicity bent to study her muddy backside for a moment, "I don't see any harm in leaving my pride here at the port for a little. Unless you mind horribly being seen with a girl with a dirty bottom?"

Herb sputtered a little at the strange question but then giggled. "You really are so like your mother. I remember she used to tie her hair up with a shoestring to do the shopping when she couldn't find anything else." He sighed, and picked up her luggage, offering her his other arm. "Let's be off then, cousin!"


	2. Chapter 2- Herb

Living with Herb was extraordinarily pleasant. He was a kind, bumbling sort of man and as Felicity grew more fond of him, she became ever more regretful that the two of them had not been able to know each other younger. Of course, by the time Felicity was conceived, Herb's parents (Felicity's mother's brother and his wife) had already moved to England to pursue their research and taken their 14 year old son with them.

London was beautiful. For the first week that she was there, Herb showed her a new part of it every day. He was so excited to show her all of the things that he enjoyed, Felicity felt for him for these years that he had been living alone. However, when she brought up the subject at dinner one evening, he merely chuckled. "Oh no, don't worry about this old fool. I'm quite alright with nothing but my own company and a good book. I must say it is nice to have a little family in the house however. I had become prone to talking to myself quite a bit and having another human to receive my rambles is most refreshing."

This made Felicity smile, and she did feel slightly relieved, knowing that when she was obligated to attend school that she wouldn't be leaving him to be sad and alone. She decided to change the subject.

"Herb, out of curiosity, what house were you in when you attended Ilvermorny?" Felicity peeked over at her cousin, before sipping another spoonful of soup (Herb was a tremendous cook, a skill that to Felicity's chagrin, she had not been gifted with).

He raised an eyebrow. "Did your mother not tell you? While I attended, I was a reluctant Wampus. It never did quite feel like the right fit for me. When I transfered to Hogwarts however I became a proud and much more comfortable Ravenclaw." He grinned at her. "Have you given any thought as to which house you think you'll be sorted into?"

Felicity had, but felt that since she was not the one doing the sorting, that she ought not to think on it too hard lest she pick a favorite and become disappointed with the ultimate result. So she just shook her head.

"Well, I think you'd make a great Ravenclaw. From what I can tell both from our conversations and the one's I had with your mother, you're an extremely intelligent girl." Herb pointed out.

Felicity had been about to change the subject once more to something like the food or the weather, when Herb thoughtfully sighed.

"You know, transferring was difficult. I understand the anxiety that can accompany living in a brand new country, with brand new people and brand new customs." He took her hand gently. "Know that at any time, you can write me and I'll be there for you if you're nervous or scared. I'll be there in two shakes of a Hippogriffs tail if you ever have the need."

Taken aback, but grateful for his kind words, Felicity squeezed her cousin's hand tightly and smiled at him.

"Thanks Herb. You've been so nice to me. I don't even know how on earth to thank you properly."

He grumbled. "Ah, don't even think of it. Just compliment my cooking and send me a letter from Hogwarts every couple months and I'll know you care at least a little about the state of this old man."

Felicity leaned over and hugged him. "You're not that old Herb. And of course I'll write you, as often as I can I promise. As long as you send me some of those cherry turnovers for Christmas." He awkwardly hugged her back, gingerly wrapping his arms about her. He seemed uncomfortable, but Felicity could tell he was pleased.


	3. Chapter 3- Sorting a Pukwudgie

"And you have all your books?"

"Yes, Herb."

"And plenty of quills?"

"Yes, Herb."

"And your gloves? It really does become quite chilly in the castle sometimes in winter…"

"Herb, honestly you're slightly worse than my mum." Felicity giggled and hugged Herb tight to her.

He sputtered, then chuckled. "I am sorry Felicity. You see, I've never had a sister before." He pulled back and looked her in the face. "I mean, I know it's only been a week. But really, I'm already looking forward to seeing you again. It was such a pleasure having some family around."

He looked almost ready to cry and Felicity wished with all her heart she could stay and comfort him and make him laugh, but it was only one minute until the professor who would escort her to school's arrival and she had been informed that he would be extremely punctual. So she reached over and kissed Herb's cheek.

"I loved having an older brother around for a little bit. This isn't the end. You've not rid yourself of me just yet Herbert Alcott."

He smiled waterly at her words and blushed at the kiss. He reluctantly let her go and pulled out a handkerchief to dab his face. There was a loud pop and quite suddenly, startling Felicity and Herb both, a middle aged, bearded wizard in dark robes stood some 10 feet away from them. He was faced away from them and seemed confused for a moment before glancing behind himself and noticing the cousins.

"Ah! You must be the Alcott's." He walked over to them and reached out a hand. As each of them shook it, he kept talking. "I am Albus Dumbledore, professor at Hogwarts of Transfiguration. I am so very pleased to meet you. It's not often we have transfer students from abroad, especially after the year has already begun."

"Hullo Professor, I'm Herb Alcott and this is my cousin Felicity Franklin. I'm a former student of Hogwarts but I don't believe we've met. Pleasure."

"Ah always nice to meet a Hogwarts alumni. Yes, yes. Now!" Dumbledore turned to Felicity. "Felicity. I wish we could stay and chat here but unfortunately we are a bit short on time." He smiled warmly and… sympathetically? at her. He must have noticed her eyes tinged red.

"Oh of course Professor, sir." She replied. She hugged Herb once more. "See you Herb. Take care. Talk to some real people now and then yeah?"

He flushed. "Thanks cousin. Have a safe year. I know you'll be great."

They parted and Dumbledore held out his arm for Felicity to take. She waved goodbye but turned as the professor whispered to her "Now, you must hold on quite tightly. You may get a bit sick." She barely had time to process the warning when all of a sudden, Herb disappeared from in front of her, or rather more accurately, she disappeared from him. It felt like she was being squeezed much harder than should have been good for a human body and logically would have broken a few ribs.

And then she was standing in front of a huge, gorgeous gothic castle.

"Would you like a peppermint?" Dumbledore's deep voice broke through her reverie and she noticed she'd been standing, mouth agape and leaning quite heavily on him. She stood shakily and looked at him, puzzled and not a little dizzy.

"It'll help". He explained, offering a small mint out to her.

She nodded, remembering that she'd read once that chewing mint leaves would help with nausea. "Thank you Professor."

He smiled at her and began to lead her to the large front doors as she quietly sucked the candy and regained her bearings.

"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Miss Franklin."

Felicity's mind (and stomach) finally began to catch up with the rest of her body and she let out small praises at the wonders of the castle. It was beautiful in it's own way. She had gotten used to Ilvermorny and loved it for what it was, but was blown away by the sheer abundance of moving paintings, the adorned staircases, armour and statues. There were beautiful huge windows and as they climbed floors, she glanced down to see the murals on the floors below. Dumbledore seemed to understand and let her ogle as long as they kept walking a steady pace.

The silence was finally broken when they reached a pair of doors with hundreds of voices coming from behind it.

"This is the great hall where we share meals. Now, Felicity it is my understanding that you were a Pukwudgie at Ilvermorny yes?" Dumbledore faced her.

Confused at how he'd received that information, but curious, she nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Now I know this may be uncomfortable, especially coming to a new school where you don't really know anyone just yet. But in a little bit, you'll be called to be sorted into a Hogwarts house. You will do it in front of everyone just like all the others did. However, becoming part of a house will be extremely beneficial to you in helping you meet acquaintances and begin friendships to help you on your journey." He seemed sympathetic, but optimistic as well. Felicity decided she liked this professor a lot.

"Okay sir." She looked him directly in the eye to show him that she was unafraid. Although she was admittedly, terrified.

He beamed at her and patted her shoulder.

"Alright then, let's have you meet everyone." And with that, he pushed open the door, revealing an immense room with hundreds of students sitting at 4 long color coordinated tables, eating an enormous feast and chatting. At the very end was a raised table and podium, where, she assumed, the teachers sat to eat.

Every eye seemed to turn at once to meet Felicity's and she shivered. Dumbledore led her down the middle of the tables to the teachers, pointing her towards a seat and encouraging her to eat. Although everything looked simply delicious, Felicity's nerves kept her from taking more than a small bite of turkey. Dumbledore had taken his own seat and once everyone had had enough to eat, he stood and walked to the podium.

He cleared his throat and begun. "Alright, settle down now." Students quieted, knowing they were about to learn more about this strange girl brought to the table in the middle of the meal. "Now, not many of you know this, but from time to time, Hogwarts has been known to accept young witches and wizards not just across the country like you all, but also internationally. This year we have 1 such student joining us. For as long as she chooses to stay, I urge to you make her feel comfortable and encourage you to treat her as one of Hogwarts own. Now, for her sorting." He reached into his robe, and pulled out what seemed to be an old, beaten and patched, brown wizards hat. "Felicity Franklin, please join me."

Felicity's heart jumped into her throat, but she obeyed silently, stepping up towards him.

"Stand here." He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a private wink. "And, stand still while the hat decides your house."

She swallowed and nodded while he placed the worn hat on her head. All was quiet.

She began to hear a thoughtful sort of grumbling. She thought it was the professor at first, but realized it was coming from the hat, whispering to itself. She listened more carefully to pick up words. "Bravery yes...Intelligence clearly...Ambition? Hm...And Kindness. Determination. Loyalty...hm yes." She sat in confused silence for a second as the whispering stopped, then nearly jumped out of her skin as the hat shouted loudly enough for the whole hall to hear: "HUFFLEPUFF!"

It had been a good idea for Felicity not to study up too much on the Hogwarts houses before arriving. Because as soon as the old hat shouted her new house's name, 1 of the 4 tables, clothed in soft golds, yellows and blacks, stood and cheered loudly in celebration with large smiles and outstretched arms and she had never been more excited.


	4. Chapter 4- The Great Greenhouse Panic

Felicity smiled to herself and hummed a little tune as she collected a few leaves from the viny plant sitting on the greenhouse windowsill. She placed them on the cutting board and began to chop them into slivers when she noticed a strange, purple plant sitting on a shelf up high to her right. She gasped and immediately grabbed the ladder and leaned it against the shelves. She couldn't believe that Hogwarts just had such a rare herb just sitting there in their greenhouse. As she climbed, she thought on how lucky she was that she happened to have mentioned to Professor Sprout that she was training in magical healing before she transferred in Herbology that day. Sprout had been delighted and gave Felicity special permission to use the greenhouse when she wished to practice and study. Reaching the plant, she picked it up carefully. It was heavier than expected, and she turned on the ladder to examine it. It shied away from her touch when she brushed one of the tendrils aside to examine the stalk sprouting from the pot. She giggled.

"Shh...it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you." She brushed the tendrils softly, and it cooed, beginning to brush her fingers back. She was careful to touch it softly as she'd read the tendrils were extremely fragile.

She was entranced with it, humming to it softly for a few minutes before all at once, there was a sound of something shattering and she became aware that her ladder she was perched on had been slowly tipping to the wrong side. Frightened terribly, she screamed and accidentally released the plant's pot in her effort to grasp the ladder and shift it back to the shelf. In that millisecond of panic, she felt her heart break with the knowledge that the small, shy plant would be destroyed immediately on the greenhouse floor and that it was her carelessness that would put it there.

She shut her eyes, expecting the ladder to tip her, like the plant onto the hard ground, most certainly hitting a table and damaging, if not crushing, whatever seedlings happened to be on it with her weight. But to her surprise, her ladder was shoved, just a second before it was too late, back towards the shelf and although it shook, neither Felicity nor any of the plants fell off of it.

Shaking hard, Felicity glanced down and at the base of the ladder, leaning forward against it to stop it from falling, was a boy her age who seemed to be huffing with his own panic. He peeked up at her from beneath his messy, auburn hair.

"Are you quite alright?" His expression was surprisingly calm. She nodded and still shaking, managed to make it down the ladder. The boy didn't let go of it until she was safely on the ground again and when she turned to face him, she gasped. In his arms was the trembling, shrunken, purple tendrils. It was obviously frightened within an inch of it's life, but it was completely intact.

"You caught it?" She breathed and held her hands out and he carefully handed the plant to her. She pet it gently and cooed to it. "Oh i'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't mean to. Oh if you hadn't been here." She looked up at the boy again. "Thank you so much."

The boy shook his head. "It's no problem really." He didn't make eye contact with her and shifted uncomfortably before turning as if to leave.

"Wait, but what's your name?" She caught hold of one of his arms. "What are you doing in here".

He smiled nervously. "Ah...it's um.. Michael. Michael Sult. Pleased to meet you but I'm in a hurry." At this he pulled out of her grasp and ran quickly out of the greenhouse and back up the hill, leaving Felicity alone once more and very confused.

"But…" He was obviously lying about his name. But why would he lie? Maybe he wasn't supposed to be in the greenhouse. Professor Sprout did say that few received that privilege outside of Herbology class. Regardless, Felicity was beyond grateful to him for saving her and the precious plant. She became determined that she would find out who he was and pay him back one way or another.


	5. Chapter 5- A Cold Common Room

A few weeks later, Felicity spotted him. In the Hufflepuff common room no less. She had been headed to the girls dormitory to grab a book during her free period when she spotted a tuft of Auburn hair peeking over the armrest of a sofa, lit up like gold from the light of the fire. The common room was otherwise empty as most students had classes at the moment. She snuck quietly over to the chair and peeked around at the soft, sleeping face of "Michael".

She studied him silently. The boy had freckles to spare, a thin face and was unusually handsome for an awkward fifteen or sixteen year old. He was curled up like a cat in the armchair, and though the fire warmed the room quiet comfortably, he seemed cold. She sighed and grabbed one of the many odd, but warm, patchwork quilts lying about in the common room (This one had squares with dirigible plum patterns sewn into it). She was endlessly curious to find out the boy's name and why he had been sneaking into the greenhouse of all places, but he looked as though he needed the sleep and she wasn't one for waking people. She figured, as she carefully tucked the boy into the blanket, that she spent enough time in the cozy Hufflepuff basement that she'd run into him again at some point when he was more conscious and could answer her questions. She smiled as his face slowly relaxed with the newfound comfort, then turned to go back to her dorm.

After reading her book for a good hour in her bed, she sighed and grabbed her school supplies. As she headed out, she automatically glanced at the armrest by the fire. She stopped her brisk walk as she realized the boy was still in the chair. He must be missing a class at this point. She thought for a second about how she would be late for her Potions lesson, but brushed it aside and decided to wake him. She put down her bookbag and gently touched the boy's shoulder.

"Hello?" She whispered. "Wake up now."

The boy started so badly that she yanked her hand back instinctively and clutched her chest.

"What?" He sat up immediately and an expression of pain overcame his face for a moment before his eyes focused on Felicity. "What happened?"

"Hi. I'm sorry I didn't mean to frighten you. You just were asleep for quite a while and I was wondering if you had missed a class accidentally?"

He brushed his hair out of his face and looked at his watch. "Oh no...not again." He breathed and immediately stood, throwing the quilt off of him. Gathering his things, he glanced at Felicity.

"Um...thanks." He gave no sign of recognizing her face, but that was alright.

"It's no problem...Mr. Sult?" She smiled.

His head jerked up to look at her again, mouth hanging open this time. She began helping him straighten his papers to put into his bag.

"I'm late too by the way. Let's run together?" She finished and handed him the bag, his mouth still agape. She couldn't help but giggle at the dried drool on his cheek.

"Buh...um. What?" He shook his head as if to clear it and took the bag.

"Come on" She nodded at him encouragingly, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door quickly. He stumbled at first but then wordlessly followed her out the barrel-shaped door-hole that was the Hufflepuff entrance.

They sprinted down hallways and up stairs until they were breathless and stopped for a second to take a break, hands on their knees. Felicity had been studying the boy's face again while she huffed since he had his eyes closed. He still had indentations on his forehead from the sofa. He must have been sleeping heavily. Since they'd been entirely silent besides the sounds of their breath and the humming of the occasional ghost floating by, she jumped when he suddenly said:

"Newt."

"What?" She asked, still tired. To her surprise, he took _her_ arm and began running with her again.

"My name is Newt Scamander." He said as they sprinted past some gleaming armor. "And I apologise for lying to you." He hadn't looked at her once.

She beamed. "It's…no problem really." They reached the end of a hall that split in two and they stopped. Felicity's class was on the left, and she assumed Newt's was on the right. She turned to face him and held out her hand. He shook it in a friendly, if not slightly awkward manner.

"I'm Felicity." She managed to gasp out. "Felicity Franklin. We should talk some more some other time, Newt Scamander."

He nodded. "Good luck."

"You too."

And with that they both continued to their classes. Felicity luckily was only 5 minutes late and got only a stern look from her professor.

Newt wasn't so lucky.


	6. Chapter 6- Just and Loyal

The next day, at supper, Felicity walked down the long Hufflepuff table looking for an empty spot. She'd been a little late so it was a bit packed. She spotted Newt, reading a book at the table on the other side, plenty of empty space beside him. He was so absorbed in his reading, that he'd raised a forkful of food to his mouth, but had left it just in front with his mouth hanging open, as if he'd suddenly been frozen with interest in the text. She suppressed the urge to laugh out loud and simply walked around the table and sat down in the space beside him. He didn't seem to notice her and not wanting to tear him away from something obviously so terribly interesting, she waited, nibbling on a fruit tart, till he finished the page he was on and was forced to put the fork in his mouth in order to turn the page.

"Whatcha reading?" Felicity asked, leaning over to see the illustration on the page. It was a picture of a strange animal, obviously magical in nature.

The boy jumped and seemed to almost choke on the food he just took in. Felicity had always been scolded for accidentally sneaking up on people, as she had an abnormally quiet disposition since a young age. But this particular young wizard seemed easier to surprise than most.

"Felicity!" He breathed when he saw it was her.

She beamed, "You remembered my name." She wasn't sure why, but she'd felt quite certain in the last day that Newt had forgotten all about her. She on the other hand, hadn't been able to stop thinking about the speckled boy the whole time for a reason she also wasn't aware of.

He seemed puzzled by her surprise however, which pleased her a little.

"Is this the Care of Magical Creatures textbook? Which sort of creature is that one?" She pointed to the illustration. The creature resembled a monkey with large, dark, round eyes.

Newt bit his lip. "Uh...well this is a demiguise. It's a marvellous creature from the East. It's born with the ability to see the future and it's fur turns it completely invisible. That makes them pretty hard to catch but the species is still dying because humans hunt them so that they can turn their pelts into invisibility cloaks." As he spoke, the slight nervousness faded. Instead he just looked sad. "The ministry has them classified as a quadruple X, so most people assume they're dangerous. But they're herbivores and actually quite peaceful."

Felicity frowned. "But that's terrible. Such an amazing creature and people would rather kill it for some temporary magic?" She studied the picture again with more care, reading the caption aloud." _The Demiguise has been known to attack if it is feeling threatened"_ Her face screwed up in disgust. " _I_ would give you a pretty nasty nip if you wanted to skin _me_ alive. What _are_ they thinking?" She shook her head and looked up to see Newt looking at her in a strange way.

"What? Is there something on my face?" She smiled at him. To her surprise, he smiled back.

"Yeah, just there." He pointed to a spot on his chin. She gaped at him, then swiped the back of her hand along her chin. Undoubtedly, a bit of custard from the fruit tart came off. She laughed out loud and proceeded to lick it off her hand before wiping it with a napkin. This seemed to tickle him and he laughed as well.

There is a moment sometimes, when you laugh at something ridiculous and then remember it happened a couple seconds later, and then you can't seem to stop laughing at this one absurd thing that happened now a long time ago and you really ought to have stopped laughing about it by now because it wasn't actually _that_ funny. But nevertheless, the giggles continue. This is what happened to Newt and Felicity just then. Soon enough the two were both crying, attracting a few weird looks from the rest of House Hufflepuff. Although knowing Hufflepuffs, they probably only wanted to hear such a funny joke for themselves, thought Felicity.

As they tried to catch their breath, Felicity noticed a boy in Gryffindor robes come up to stand behind them.

"Something funny?" He asked.

Newt stiffened and stopped laughing, turning to face the boy.

"Just something Newt said is all." Said Felicity, wiping her eyes and still trying to breathe normally.

"Newton Artemis Fido Scamander said something funnier than his name? That is a surprise."

"Theseus…" Newt started softly, but was interrupted by the older boy.

"You courting the American girl now, Newton? She's a bit out of your league ain't she?"

"Theseus please…"

"Excuse me?" Felicity glared at the boy. "Who are you to talk to him that way?"

"It's okay Felicity…" Newt whispered.

"Oh I'm Newton's older brother, _unfortunately._ I like her Newton. Mind if I borrow her one of these weekends?"

"Theseus stop this."

"It's just one weekend Newton. I won't hurt her or anything."

Felicity's blood boiled. All of the humor of the previous conversation had dissipated and instead she was left with anger. Before she knew it, she'd stood and wiped the smug smile off of Theseus' face with a slap.

"How dare you." She glared at his shocked face.

"You _bitch_." Theseus' red face screwed up in rage and he started to take his wand out of his robes when Professor Dumbledore seemed to materialize.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Dumbledore's eyes studied Theseus (whose pale face had reproduced the shape of Felicity's hand on his cheek perfectly) then Felicity's still angry expression and Newt's shocked, seated position.

"Professor Dumbledore sir, I was just trying to have a friendly conversation with my brother when the American girl just stood and slapped me for no reason! Honestly sir, I don't understand." Theseus started, having put his wand back in his robes inconspicuously.

"You liar!" Felicity glared daggers into the boy.

Newt stayed silent.

Dumbledore stroked his furry chin. "Hm… I apologize Theseus but I seriously doubt your allegation that Miss Franklin would slap anyone without cause. 10 points will be taken from Gryffindor House for such false accusations. Nevertheless Felicity, I'm sorry but we do not under any circumstances tolerate any sort of violence against peers and I must ask you to join Mr. Scamander on Saturday evening for detention."

"What? Ten points and detention? That's hardly fair professor!" Theseus took two steps towards Dumbledore, arms raised in protest.

Dumbledore raised his hands as well, defensively. "I apologize for the misunderstanding but I was talking about young Newton." He gestured to Newt who was grimacing.

Felicity flamed. "But Newt didn't do anything professor. He was more polite than any of us sir."

Newt placed a hand on her arm and she turned to look at him. "Don't be angry with Dumbledore. I actually already had detention on Saturday."

Dumbledore seemed to share a small smile to himself. "well, since I wasn't present, I feel my say in this is over. I'll be on my way. I'll see you both on Saturday." And he walked away.

As soon as he was gone, Theseus crossed his arms. "Detention again Newt? Mum'll for sure be hearing about this. What was it for this time?"

"I'll take worse than detention if it means getting you to walk away." Felicity warned, her hand just inside her robe, gripping her wand.

Theseus seemed to get the message and sneered at them before sulking back to Gryffindor table. She didn't blame him. Her slaps were known to sting quite painfully for over an hour after it was delivered.

She sat down on the bench. "What's his problem?" Newt's hand was still on her arm and she looked at him.

He gave a small smile "Ah… Theseus has always been a little aggressive." He shook his head. "You didn't have to do that you know."

"Well, it seemed like he deserved it." She put her hand on his arm as well. "Besides, we're Hufflepuff's yeah? We watch out for each other."

Newt really smiled at that. "Well, I guess I'll be glad of the company in the Forbidden Forest."

Felicity's eyes widened. "What?"

 _*You go Felicity! Theseus really did deserve that slap. Anyways, I wanted to point out that while I tried to be as Canon as possible (according to the Harry Potter Wikia) there are obviously going to be some discrepancies where I had to improvise a bit due to a lack of knowledge about the characters lives in 1913. Please forgive me if new information happens to be released either by Jo or whomever and my story doesn't happen to fall in line with that._

 _That being said, I do want your reviews! They help let me know people care about my story and suggestions may occasionally be taken up. Thanks for taking the time to read at all :)_

 _Love Weeooweeoo*_


	7. Chapter 7- The Egg

Newt woke up sweating from the heat of the hot water bottle pressed against his stomach. He lifted the blanket and took out his wand from under his pillow.

" _Lumos_." He whispered.

The tip of his wand lit up softly and he quickly covered it with his hand and put it under the blanket so as not to wake the other boys in his dorm. He pulled the blanket over his head and slowly pulled the bottle away from his midriff. Sitting, pressed against Newt's skin was a dark green colored egg about the size of his fist. It was beating like a faint heartbeat. The beating was stronger today. Newt would have to start preparing soon.

He smiled and stroked the shell before saying the incantation to turn out the light. Replacing the egg and bottle, he lay his head back down. He took comfort in the small, steady heartbeat, but couldn't help worrying about how difficult the egg would be to hide once it had been hatched.

That day after Charms lesson, Newt set off for the greenhouse. Once the egg had hatched, the baby was sure to be extremely hungry. He'd used the greenhouse before as it was always well-stocked and well-groomed. No one would miss a few pluckings here and there, even on the more valuable herbs. He did wonder why they kept it so loosely guarded. When he reached it, he put his bag down just inside leaning up against the door so that anyone who was going to come through would knock it down and set to work, collecting a few snips here and there and collecting the flies from the air. Newt had become quite adept at this and got it done quickly. He folded his little collecting bag up and put it in his pocket. He was making mental lists of all the other things he needed to prepare as he turned to leave when he caught the sound of someone humming softly.

He froze. There was someone in the greenhouse. No one was ever in the greenhouse at this time. If he was caught and someone told a teacher, he could get in a lot of trouble. Not only because he wasn't supposed to be there, but because they would surely want to know why he was there as well. And Newt definitely wouldn't be explaining that.

He stepped carefully. He peeked around a shelf just in time for a girl about his age to turn away from him, something else catching her eye at the last second. A huge smile lit her face and she grabbed a ladder. Practically running up it, she reached the top shelf of a particularly tall bookcase full of flowers and such. She reverently lifted a purple plant and half turned on the ladder to hold it better. The way she was holding something obviously weighty on such a high, precarious setting made Newt nervous. It seemed to bring her no such worry. She pet the plant and seemed to be cooing to it as one would a baby.

Newt noticed a certain light in her eyes. It was the same kind of light he saw in his mother's eyes when she talked to anyone about Hippogriffs. Breeding them, riding them it didn't matter.

She was a pretty enough girl, but the enraptured look on her face made her seem in that moment, extremely beautiful.

Newt's concern about her position sprung to life as he saw her ladder begin to tilt in the wrong direction. Knowing that it would be useless to call out to her at this point, he sprinted across the small enclosed space of the greenhouse, weaving between tables. He knocked an empty pot down in his haste and it shattered. The sound alerted the girl and she finally became aware, too late of course, of the danger. She dropped the pot she was holding and screamed, grabbing the ladder. Newt just barely reached the ladder in time to catch the falling pot before it smashed over his head and shove her ladder back against the shelving. He gripped the ladder tightly to keep it steady and breathed out, relieved as he raised his head to look at her. She was shaking, face looking down at his, frozen with shock.

"Are you quite alright?" He asked. He hoped to all the stars in the heavens that she was not one of those girls prone to fainting. But she nodded and seemed to swallow hard before descending. When she reached the floor with shaky legs, she gasped, noticing the pot in Newt's left arm.

"You caught it?" She seemed to finally release some of the tension from her limbs, reaching out for the plant. He carefully handed it to her and she whispered in soft, soothing tones to it. He noticed for the first time that the plant itself was trembling in fear, shaking tendrils curled in on itself.

"Thank you so much."

It took Newt a second to realize she was addressing him.

"Ah, it's no problem really." He realized quickly that he should leave immediately, but she grabbed him firmly by the arm.

"Wait, but what's your name? What are you doing in here?" _Uh oh._

"Ah...it's um.." Newt tried to think quickly. "Michael. Michael Sult." _Michael Sult? What is that?_ He berated himself in his head. "Pleased to meet you but I'm in a hurry." He quickly managed to pull away from her and run out of the greenhouse, scooping up his bag and bee lining to Hufflepuff commons. He scolded himself. She looked his age. She was probably in 6th year with him. If she tried even a little bit she would probably figure out that his name wasn't _Michael Sult_.

He didn't stop running until he reached his dorm, he bent over, hands on his knees in exhaustion. He put his bag on his bed and pulled out a small trunk from under it. Checking that no one was sleeping in a bed nearby, he pulled out his wand.

" _Alohomora."_

With a click, the lock fell open and he opened it carefully. To his relief, the egg sat on the warm bottle, intact where he'd left it. He pulled the now-dead flies and herb clippings from his coat pocket. Setting the insects in a small collecting jar in the trunk alongside the egg and the clippings into a different jar of dirt on the other side, Newt sighed.

"What am I going to do with you. Heaven forbid it starts to rain during the autumn season. I can't keep you in this little trunk either. You'd go out of your little mind. Not to mention you wouldn't develop your wings properly either." He stroked the egg, feeling the strong small beat. "Heaven knows how mum would react if I even managed to keep you long enough to take you home with me." He began to tear up with worry. "I promise...I'll figure something out."


	8. Chapter 8- A Cowardly Gryffindor

Newt's next few weeks were filled with stress. Not much was known about this particular creatures hatching habits, so he was on the alert at all times. He began to carry the egg with him. The shell was durable enough that even if someone bumped into him, it wouldn't break. But just in case, he made a sort of makeshift baby carrier and tucked it underneath his jumper and robes. It was a little too warm for Newt, but a perfect, snug little place for the egg. Newt took great comfort in the egg as well and reduced a little of his anxiety. Having it on him was a vast improvement he felt. He could keep a close watch on it while it was receiving the close contact it needed.

Newt quickly found a place in the Great Hall and plated a few things before opening up his textbook for his Care of Magical Creatures class. He'd already read it of course during the summer, but he always ended up reading books twice to absorb the information more clearly. His thoughts wandered before he started the new chapter however, and he found himself thinking about that girl.

That girl. The American. The one he'd hoped he wouldn't hear from again, had one afternoon that week, kindly woken Newt from his accidental nap in the common room. Felicity.

He'd told her the truth of course. Well, not the whole truth. But it made him feel better to have told her his real name at least. It made him feel...seen. Not only that she'd noticed him asleep and thought that he might be missing a class (which he was: he'd gotten detention again. With a different teacher this time. Not that Newt particularly minded the Forbidden Forest) but now someone other than his professors, his brother and a couple rude Gryffindor kids, knew his name. Allowing himself a small smile, he decided to refocus on his book.

Newt wasn't sure just how much time had passed when a voice, close enough to his ear that he could feel the breath forming the words brush him, said "Whatcha reading?" He identified the American accent before ever turning and definitely before his heart returned to his chest.

"Felicity." Newt was positive his face must be bright red by this point. Just how long had she been sitting there? So close to him as well?

The girl smiled at him with surprised color. "You remembered my name." She seemed quietly shocked, as though that wasn't something she was used to, and Newt felt a pang of empathy.

Newt also amusingly noticed a bit of some food on her chin, but while deciding not to say anything, he almost didn't register that she'd asked him about the demiguise illustration on the open page of his text. He turned his attention to the page and repeated the memorized information about Demiguise endangerment. It made him depressed every time, as well as rekindled a desperate, hopeless desire to rescue every last living demiguise and protect them.

After he finished his explanation, Felicity crossed her arms, looking angry. For a second, Newt wondered what he might have said absentmindedly that could have upset her before she exclaimed:

"But that's terrible. Such an amazing creature and people would rather kill it for some temporary magic?" She bent over the picture over Newt's shoulder again. " _The Demiguise has been known to attack if it is feeling threatened"_ Her face soured considerably " _I_ would give you a pretty nasty nip if you wanted to skin _me_ alive. What _are_ they thinking?"

Newt almost laughed out loud as he felt several emotions at once; A righteous anger in tune with Felicity's, a pleasant surprise to learn she felt as strongly about the matter as he, and a sharp humor in imagining kind Felicity biting _anyone_. She seemed to catch him looking at her and held contact with him.

"What? Is there something on my face?" She smiled gently at him. Newt held back a giggle, it was too perfect.

"Yeah, just there." He pointed on his own chin the spot where Felicity had what looked like custard dotted.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise and she quickly wiped her chin with her hand and inspected it. She unexpectedly let loose a loud laugh, making him and a few nearby Hufflepuffs jump, and proceeded to lick the custard off her hand like a cat might. Already holding back, this act drove Newt off the edge and he let loose a stream of giggles. This is turn, seemed to set Felicity off more and she laughed harder, a full-body kind of laugh that makes other want to join in. Newt honestly couldn't remember when last he'd laughed this hard, especially around any human besides maybe his mother.

An expert in bad timing, this was the moment that his beloved older brother decided to butt in. In the middle of wiping his eyes, Newt didn't notice Theseus creep up behind them.

"Something funny?"

Newt's mood soured considerably. He should've known that Theseus would've noticed an opportunity for his favorite pastime.

"Just something Newt said is all." Felicity hadn't seemed to notice the mood change yet.

"Newton Artemis Fido Scamander said something funnier than his name? That is a surprise."

"Theseus…" Newt brushed through his hair irritatedly.

"You courting the American girl now Newton? She's a bit out of your league ain't she?"

He repressed the urge to roll his eyes, knowing his brother was only trying to get him angry.

"Theseus please…"

"Excuse me?" Newt glanced up to see Felicity's eyes take on a fiery note. "Who are you to talk to him that way?"

Surprised she'd stood up to him, but knowing that was exactly what Theseus wanted, he tried to placate her. "It's okay Felicity…"

"Oh I'm Newton's older brother, _unfortunately._ I like her Newton. Mind if I borrow her one of these weekends?"

Newt could deal with his brother's taunts about his name, but he tried to warn Theseus with his eyes not to dare drag this girl into it.

"Theseus stop this."

The gryffindor stared directly back into his eyes, sensing Newt's rising temper and practically licking his lips.

"It's just one weekend Newton." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I won't hurt her or anything."

Newt moved to stand up in anger, damn it all, but, surprising both Scamander boys with her speed, Felicity beat him there and had slapped his brother across the face without hesitation.

"How dare you." Felicity's voice shook a little with seemingly barely contained anger. Like she was holding back still.

The shock on Theseus' face, no doubt mirrored on Newt's own, quickly morphed into a familiarly dangerous expression.

"You bitch." He spat.

Newt gripped his wand beneath his robes, a well-practiced disarming charm on his tongue, as he saw Theseus begin to draw his. He kept in mind to avoid any bodily attacks as he was still carrying the egg with him under his shirt. To anyone else, the bulge would appear as a few extra pounds around Newt's middle and if bumped accidentally in the hallway it would be no big deal. But a direct blast from Theseus' expert stunning spell would crush the thing like a dried leaf. He hesitated at the last second as Dumbledore appeared out of the corner of his eye.

"What seems to be the problem here?"

"Professor Dumbledore sir, I was just trying to have a friendly conversation with my brother when the American girl just stood and slapped me for no reason! Honestly sir, I don't understand." Newt could count on one hand how many times he'd heard Theseus refer to him as 'Professor Dumbledore sir' and each time was directly related to attempting to get out of trouble. Sometimes Newt seriously wondered how his brother managed to avoid being sorted into Slytherin.

"You liar!" Felicity's words dripped disbelief and poison.

Newt saw Dumbledore's eyes calmly regard the five-fingered mark plainly situated on the elder Scamander's face, flit to Felicity's fiery eyes and back to Newt. He met his gaze, and seemed to contemplate what he saw there briefly before saying: "Hm… I apologize Theseus but I seriously doubt your allegation that Miss Franklin would slap anyone without cause. 10 points will be taken from Gryffindor House for such false accusations. Nevertheless Felicity, I'm sorry but we do not under any circumstances tolerate any sort of violence against peers and I must ask you to join Mr. Scamander on Saturday evening for detention."

"What? Ten points and detention? That's hardly fair professor!" Theseus raised his arms at Dumbledore and his voice dropped the polite pretense, which would've been funny in any other situation. Imagine Theseus trying to take on Dumbledore.

Newt caught a small, private smirk from Dumbledore, as if he found this humorous as well. "I apologize for the misunderstanding but I was talking about young Newton."

To his surprise, Felicity turned to Dumbledore as well, although with a smidgen more respect in her tone than Theseus. "But Newt didn't do anything professor. He was more polite than any of us sir." Newt bit his lip at that, feeling guilty for allowing her to think he wasn't just as ready to fight his brother for her as she had been for him.

He turned her back to him. "Don't be angry with Dumbledore. I actually already had detention on Saturday." He glanced at Dumbledore who was eyeing him and his hand on Felicity's arm. He always seemed to read right through Newt.

"well, since I don't know what happened, and I doubt any of you will tell me the truth, I'll be on my way. See you on Saturday." Dumbledore kept smiling even as he walked away, some thought in his head obviously amusing him.

"Detention again Newt. Mum will for sure be hearing about this. What was it for this time?" He turned back to his brother who stood triumphantly sneering at having found out about Newt's apparent delinquency.

"I'll take worse than detention if it means getting you to walk away." Felicity's tone was just as fierce as the moment after she'd slapped him.

Theseus, the most cowardly Gryffindor Newt had ever met, received her warning and walked away.

Newt watched her as she sat back down beside him, closer than before.

"What's his problem?" She asked, somewhat seriously, as though she actually wanted to know.

"Ah…" He wondered how to put this. "Theseus has always been a little aggressive." Understatement. "You didn't have to do that you know." He was still upset she'd gotten in trouble over something that wasn't really her problem in the first place.

"Well, it seemed like he deserved it." She put her hand on his arm the same way he was with her other arm. "Besides, we're Hufflepuff's yeah? We watch out for each other."

His heart warmed unexpectedly. He'd heard words similar to that his whole time at Hogwarts: Hardworking, patient, just, loyal, true. "Well, I guess I'll be glad of the company in the Forbidden Forest."

"What?"

Oh yeah. Felicity had not spent as much time at Hogwarts as he. This was likely her first detention.

"Oh, no need to worry. It's not nearly as bad as it sounds." He turned back to their food. Their lunch was rapidly coming to it's end, and Newt only just remembered to eat something, as well as pull out some bags to pocket some of the extra meat on the table. Felicity eyed his actions curiously, but to his relief, didn't question him.

"Then why do they call it 'Forbidden'?" She sipped from a goblet thoughtfully.

"Because it is. Technically, students aren't allowed to go in without the proper supervision. It can be dangerous I supposed if you're unprepared."

Newt couldn't honestly remember how long it'd been since he'd had such a lengthy conversation with anyone who wasn't his brother, Dumbledore or Professor Kettleburn.

"But you're not nervous?" Something about her tone made him turn. Her eyes met his easily.

"I've spent the better part of 6 years in that forest." He found himself answering.

She smiled, apparently satisfied with his answer.

"Then I won't be either."


	9. AN

A/N

Hey guys, so I'm super aware last chapter was kinda a cop out and a little rude of me (the whole: retelling events from a different perspective so that you don't have to come up with any original dialogue) and I'm sorry :/ I've been struggling just a little lately with creativity, motivation and focus. I'm proud of myself for getting something out at least although i'm aware it's been forever since I posted last and to give you guys this after so long is a little shitty. I'm hoping to pick it up a little next chapter. We'll see. Please leave reviews and tell me what I could do to possibly improve and or what you liked. It all helps really so much to even know that people are reading.

Stay tuned, intro-ing another "new" character next chapter.

Love, WeeooWeeoo 3


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